Upcoming DAT exam. Push back date or not?

[r0b113]

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Hi everyone,

I was referred to this community by my med-school cousins and friends, and I'm impressed with the help and opinions everybody provides. While I know a ton of family members and friends who are pre-med/med school students, I'm the only pre-dental and would like some opinions and guidance in my DAT prep and dental school admissions

I'm a junior in undergrad majoring in Biological Sciences with a 3.9 overall GPA and 3.8 science GPA. I took a practice Kaplan MCAT exam (don't know why I didn't take the practice DAT, but I missed it) and got a 28. I scheduled to take my DAT on May 19th, and my dilemma is whether or not to push it back.

I've been studying less than aggressively during my winter semester with the MCAT ExamKrackers manuals. Having finished finals yesterday, I have two weeks to knuckle down. I know this isn't truly enough, and I feel capable and apprehensive at the same time.

The problem is this: From May 20th - June 5th I will be with family for two weddings and vacations. Is it worth it for me to push back my test date to mid/late-June so that I have more time to prepare? Although, I won't have that much more time to study with my family obligations in the way. How important is it to have my DAT scores and submit my applications within the first two weeks of the June 3rd opening?

I've seen some replies to other people's posts/dilemmas, but I'd like to know what everyone thinks about my situation and the importance of certain factors in DAT taking and applications, as I have little trustworthy advice on these things (unless I take MCAT and medical advice equivalently)

Thanks in advance!
-Rob

 

[casper22]

Postponing the exam would depend completely on who confident you feel about your studies... in you case.. how much do you remember from your science classes...

I think it is more important to get a better score than to rush in applying on June 3. I personally am taking my exam in July.

I think you need to decide if 2 weeks of study will be enough for you get a better score or postponed it based on your schedule so that you will be better prepared later.

Remember there is a 90 days wait period between attempts.

 

[UCB05]

imo with that GPA you have some leeway as far as applying early or with the pack. In your situation I would postpone and give it a little extra time to make sure you're properly prepared.

Also if you can, try to get some DAT-exclusive material or at least a practice test so you see where you stand. I'm distrustful of MCAT material for the DAT. The depth was different when I remember back to my MCAT vs DAT studies.

 

[DATkiller]

Is MCAT bio more in depth?

 

[UCB05]

It has some human anat/phys, no ecology, no plant bio. MCAT also requires less pure knowledge and more understanding of concepts. A lot of info you won't need to have memorized for the MCAT and if relevant, will be given to you in the passages, like equations, constant values, etc. No such luck for the DAT. If you don't know it, you'll be back here pointing out how random the questions were 😛 I went through EK OChem while studying for the DAT and was surprised how many times I read that little cracker telling me I didn't have to memorize so-and-so for the MCAT.

 

[r0b113]

I just took a full practice Kaplan DAT and scored an 18. I'm definitely not willing to keep my exam date in less than two weeks. So my question now is this: I want to study for at least a month. What's the best, most comprehensive DAT prep textbook/manual in your opinion?

 

[dentalWorks]

IMO... I think you should to push back.

It seems to me that you've prepared mostly for the MCAT. Taking the DAT by using only MCAT study material is a recipe for disaster (IMHO). There are things on the MCAT that are simply not required/not needed but are HEAVILY required for the DAT.... great example of this is orgo section, for the DAT you really need to have most of those reactions memorized cold, for the MCAT, you don't exactly have to have many reactions memorized cause they are more interested in knowing if you know the reaction mechanisms.